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Fragments of Windows go missing

MICROSOFT has lost some of the original programming code for its Windows
and MS-DOS software, infuriating a company it will be facing in court next
summer. In February, a US federal court in Salt Lake City ordered Microsoft to
provide the “source code” for Windows and MS-DOS to software company Caldera,
which alleges that Microsoft deliberately made its Windows software incompatible
with rival operating systems like Caldera’s DR-DOS.

Caldera is seeking damages for lost sales due to what it alleges is a
built-in incompatibility. Microsoft denies the claim. Although Microsoft has
handed over some of the code that Caldera wanted, it says it has lost some of
the source code for Windows and the older MS-DOS software. Jim Cullinan, a
spokesman for Microsoft in Seattle, says of the missing pieces: “They’re very
difficult to find because they’re six or seven years old . . . Source code is
our most valuable asset, but in the technical field [this particular source
code] is far outdated.”

Caldera chief executive Bryan Sparks says the lack of some of the source code
should not damage his company’s case, but he believes that the source
code—complete with programmers’ comments—might have helped in court.